(ignore the title, it's the RIGHT front suspension!)

Last week my right front suspension started making a sound similar to that of the sound that a dog's or kid's toy makes when it has a noisemaker in it...a sound of air flowing in and out of a small opening?!? Any ideas what it could be? Imagine if you had a beach ball with a leak in it, and when you squeeze it air goes out, but then air gets sucked back in when you release the pressure. Do that really fast, and that's the sound coming from my right front suspension! I only hear it when going over bumps.

Any thoughts?

 

any thoughts, anyone? Even speculation would be helpful!

 

I can only guess that it might be a right front suspension bushing making the squeaky noise.Maybe it needs to be lubricated/replaced? Best to make an appointment to have it looked at by your dealership service department.

 

Sounds like a scrunched or dry bushing. Could need lube or replacement. Get it checked out.

 

Bushing is pretty likely. See if you can try and replicate the noise while you car is parked just by pushing on the front (pop the hood if you don't want to push on it). If you can get it to make the noise then, with the help of a friend you may be able to target it better. Also try and see if steering or moving the opposite side has any effect. That can help target all the different locations.

 

Weird thing is, it's a brand new car! Only 2000 miles on it. Would the bushings dry out that quickly?

Unforunately I'm 200 miles from a dealer, so taking it in is not a simple prospect.

My first thought when it started happening was that it sounded like the tire had a hole in it, and every time I hit a bump, air would flow in and out of the tire...it's the oddest sound I think I've ever heard on a car!

 

Blackjack,

Can you reproduce the sound and take a video of it? Then post it on youtube? That might help people understand what you're talking about...

MINI totally needs a "virtual diagnosis" service where you could just send them a YouTube URL and ask them if you need to bring your car in...

 

Complain it to the service rep.

 

I took the right front wheel off and I can see two rubber boots. I assume one is covering he CV joint, but what would the other be covering?

My guess is that one of these boots has a small hole in it. When the suspension moves, the boot compresses and expands, thus sucking/exhaling air out of the hole and causing the noise.

Assuming it is one of those, does that sound like something that would be covered under warranty? Or will the dealer try to say "road hazard, you must have hit something that pierced the boot so you have to pay for it".

 

I think that you could diagnose your problem better if you had two people there, one to push and one to listen.

 

It's probably a bushing. Think rubber and metal rubbing.

 

The noise can't seem to be reproduced when stationary, nor does it happen over gentle undulations of the road. It happens when there's a more abrupt change in the surface of the road, like a pothole or a bump in the road from buckled pavement.

Since it seems to require more of a quick, sharp movement to make the noise, that is why I was leaning towards it being a hole in a rubber boot.

Try this: Take your rubber ducky (c'mon, everyone has one, right!) and squeeze it gently...and you hear virtually no noise. But if you squeeze it quickly, you hear a "squeak". THAT'S the noise I hear!

 

Swaybar bushing? I know aftermarket sbs have bushings but I don't know about OEM bars. They'll squeak/groan rarely on my car but only when I turn sparply.

 

It was the right front strut! They said they'd only seen that one other time FWIW. I sure had myself convinced (and the service tech for that matter) that it was one of the rubber boots!

 

That is great to hear

 

Hey blackjackmark, what was wrong with the strut? My MINI seems to have developed the same symptom today. Oddly enough, I only have ~3,600 miles so the case is very similar to yours.

Anyhow, just looking for some more details. Did MINI cover the repair under warranty?

 

Yep, covered under warranty!

 

My mini's apparently having the same issue. What was wrong with the strut? Thanks in advance

 

No idea, they just replaced it. I'm assuming it was just a bad bushing or something?